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Directions to Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais

There is room to park up c. 70 yards N of Ledbeg Bridge on the A837 at NC 24905 14194. Walk c. 100 yards S over the bridge. Head E into moorland for c. 25 yards to an obvious mound surmounted by several erect stones. This is the ruined Ledbeg River Cairn. The upright stones on the summit of the cairn are remnants of a burial chamber. There is a scattering of large stones to the S of the chamber. Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais Cairn is located on the N slope of Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais beside the Ledbeg River. It is c. 400 yards E of Ledbeg River Cairn in rough boggy moorland on an elevated spur. I walked E, parallel to the river to reach this almost invisible cairn at NC 25279 14166. The low mound is a heathery island in brown moorland measuring c. 10 feet in diameter and 1 foot high. My walking route is viewable on Ledbeg River Cairns. The route to Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais Cairn is a short strenuous yomp requiring wellies or walking boots.

Visited 07.10.26

Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais Cairn is located on the N slope of Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais beside the Ledbeg River. It is c. 400 yards E of Ledbeg River Cairn in rough boggy moorland on an elevated spur. I walked E parallel to the river to reach this almost invisible cairn at NC 25279 14166. The low mound is a heathery island in brown moorland measuring c. 10 feet in diameter and 1 foot high. trove.scot 4525 noted that it was ” bounded by contiguous slabs set lengthways” but there was no stone kerbing visible on my visit. The route to Creag Mac A Ghille Chlais Cairn is a short strenuous yomp requiring wellies or walking boots.

Directions to Sheuchan Hill Cairn:

Take the New Luce/Industrial Estate turn off the A75 in Castle Kennedy. Continue along this minor road for c. 1.9 miles to reach a farm track to Little Tongue on the left. Follow this single track road for c. 0.5 mile to a shed where it is possible to park up by a cattlegrid at NX 1281 6245. I met a friendly farmer who was quite happy for me to visit the cairn. Walk c. 150 yards along the farm track to a right-angled bend. There is a gate on the left. Walk S across a paddock for c. 50 yards to a gap in a dry stane dyke bordering rough moorland. Walk c. SW on a bearing of 238° for c. 250 yards to reach Sheuchan Hill Cairn at NX 12250 62180. In truth, there is not much to see, just tussocks of marsh grass with no visible stones. My walking route is viewable on Sheuchan Hill Cairn. Given the difficult boggy terrain underfoot, I wouldn’t recommend following in my footsteps.

Visited 08.10.26

I followed in the squelchy footsteps of thelonius and gladman down to the banks of Loch Cam before heading NE up a pathless slope towards the Cam Loch Cairns. (Should they be called the Ledbeg Cairns given that they are located in rough pasture SW of Ledbeg?) The going underfoot was energy sapping. I was fortunate to head directly for a gap in the deer fence. The moorland beyond the fence was equally unforgiving but an obvious cairn loomed into view, a green oasis on the edge of brown moorland. Ledbeg W Cairn more than made up for the soggy route to it: a grassy mound with a large portal on the SE and remains of a polygonal chamber in the centre. Ledbeg E Cairn is located c. 150 m E of its companion cairn. It is an undisturbed mound with few features save for a few large kerb stones and an earth bank radiating from the SW arc.

I used the OSGR’s quoted in trove.scot 4645 to navigate to the Ledbeg Cairns. Ledbeg W Cairn is located at NC 23460 13160 and Ledbeg E Cairn is located at NC 23602 13133.

Visited 07.10.26

Loynemore E Cairn is located in boggy moorland, c. 0.7 km E of the A837, c. 1.4 miles N of the A835/A837 junction at Ledmore, a small settlement in the Highlands. It is constructed on a SW slope c. 80m above the A837. Loynemore E Cairn “measures approximately 13.5m E-W by 12.0m transversely and is 1.2m high” according to trove.scot 4624. The NE half of the mound is covered in rough grass: the SW half of the mound is covered in scattered stones on rough grass. There is a subcircular scatter of small cairn stones measuring c. 4m in diameter outside the NW perimeter.

Loynemore E Cairn is situated c. 0.5 km E of Loynemore W Cairn.